Broken Wings
by MindLezz
Summary: AU&OOC(sasusaku, naruhina) Sasuke and Naruto are the top assassins in Orochimaru's league. For their next mission they are assigned to eliminate one of the biggest threats to their boss... Haruno Sakura? [Language warning]
1. Death of a Random Fat Man

AN: All right, so, I made a few errors and I decided to remove this story completely and start it over from the beginning. The first four chapters will of course be similar to the old if anyone remembers those, and there will be a few tweaks here and there, but nothing too big, so if you wish to skip through and go to chapter 5, go for it. **The other chapters will be posted within the next few days.** (And yes, it'll happen, I won't make you wait _that_ long.) As for now, here's chapter one again…

I'll say this**_ once_** and only **_once_**- Disclaimer: _I do **not**_ own Naruto; it belongs to its respectful owners and creators.

…..

Broken Wings - Chapter 1: Death of a Random Fat Man.

"Five… four… three…" he took in a breath. A limo pulled up on the street corner. Out stepped a large, red looking man glowing vibrantly as if he didn't have a care in the world. He let out a bellow of laughter and pulled out his half-million dollar watch. The curious on lookers surrounded him, creating somewhat of a shell. _'Time to move.'_ He stepped off the roof, and skillfully jumped to the next.

The man walked into the restaurant chatting diligently with the guests surrounding him. "Sir." A waiter addressed him and pulled out his chair. "My name is Maki. Uzu Maki." He introduced himself. The large man simply nodded and waved his hand dismissingly.

"Crown Royal, a whole bottle, and quickly. Get to it! My guests need tending to also. Make sure they is taken care of." The fat man said sternly. The waiter nodded and went to perform his task. The large man tugged on his sleeve. "You look odd dear boy," he stated noting the waiter's blonde hair and blue eyes. "What nationality are you?" _'You're rich and suddenly manners don't matter naymore.'_ The blonde's eye twitched.

"Sir, I have a task to attend to." He said wanting to avoid the subject. The rich man glared at him. "But if you must know, I am Japanese." The fat man nodded, laughed and shrugged. He spanked the waiter as if saying, 'Get to it, tut tut.' The blonde waiter walked off, irritated and partially violated. "Blubbering idiot." He grumbled.

…..

He walked into the spacious dining room of the restaurant, carrying himself like a fine gentleman. His black clothing seemed uncommon yet fitting for his slim figure. A black trench coat hung onto his shoulders, which went down the length of his body until the heels. He wore a black button down shirt, tailored black pants… and a pair of sunglasses to add a hint of mystery. Underneath it all, his eyes scanned the area.

His lips were set in a grim line, when he noticed he'd caught some unwanted attention from females fanning themselves from the other side of the room, glancing flirtatiously at him. He rolled his eyes and kept his cool. A waitress finally placed him in a corner seat, far away from the females, and close enough to his target. He took a glance at his watch. _'Two minutes.' _For now, all he could do was sit and watch. _'You'd better pull this off.'_ Underneath the glasses he glared.

…..

"Your Crown Royal, Sir." The blonde placed the drink onto the table. His eye caught a slight glimpse at a figure in black strolling in. His face darkened; he turned his head toward the large laughing idiot. _'Don't you dare spank me again, old man, I have a job to do.'_ "Is there anything else you need, sir? Perhaps you'd like to order?" He asked in a light tone. The man was talking to his guests, and didn't seem to notice Maki's presence. He shrugged the waiter off. "Forget it." Maki grumbled.

Maki cursed the old fart and stepped into the kitchen, going all the way to the back into the power room. _'Thirty seconds… thou shalt pay old man!'_ He glanced around the room, studying the many colors of wire and metal contraptions. From what seems out of nowhere, he pulled a pair of clippers. _'Green… blue… yellow…'_ He placed a hand under his chin as he thought about it. "Bah!" After two seconds he gave up and decided to cut all the wires. _'No time.'_

"Maki!" A sharp voice yelled his name. He was surprised by the sudden outburst and fell back, and hit his arm on the control panel. "What are you-…" His manager stepped in. Unfortunately, Maki had hit the power control. "Great… you klutz the powers out-…" A sudden gunshot rang from the dining room. Screams echoed and panicking people could be heard running throughout the restaurant, knocking over chairs and spilling over tables. A brawl will begin soon if control didn't ensue soon. "Maki get your ass up and flip the switch!" The blonde did so.

The lights flipped on and the chaos had died down, but a single scream pierced the air. _'Shit.'_ Maki cursed as he pushed his manager out of the way and ran into the dining room. A crowd was bent over something, or someone. He shoved his way through it until he made it to the center of it all.

It seemed, that the person he'd been hosting was murdered. A clean bullet was made directly to the forehead. His eyes were still open, his expression of shock and fear was still apparent also. One of his closer friends was cradling his enormous dead body. Maki's head snapped up.

He pushed his way out of the crowd and scanned the room. The man in black was nowhere to be found. _'Damn.'_

"Maki!" The annoying voice of his manager rang in his ears. The taller brunette man glared at him. "This is all your fault!"

"But- but you're the one that made me-…" he began to reason.

"No excuses Uzu! You are fired! That's it!" his manager yelled. "Just get out of here!"

"Ok." Maki stated nonchalantly and ripped off his nametag. Inwardly he was smiling. He left the restaurant leaving a fuming manager behind him.

"And don't ever come back!" The manager's voice boomed from inside the restaurant.

…..

Maki grinned from check to cheek and walked down the street triumphantly. His eyes examined the area. "Hmmm…" They finally settled on the roof. Satisfyingly, he found who he was looking for. The man in black had his back faced toward him, but at least he found the guy.

"Smooth." The blonde stated when he made it onto the roof. "You think it could've been a little more quiet than that-…"

"You're just complaining because I got to him first." The other man smirked. "You were there longer than me, you had the opportunity the entire time."

"Still! He was my target! And I was going to take that opportunity, until _you,_" He pointed a finger blaming him. "Shot the fat bastard in the head!"

"It's not my fault you screwed up, dobe." The man in black turned to face the blonde. "Besides, I was timing you, and you didn't meet the deadline."

" It's all that stupid manager's fault! Jeez, if that idiot hadn't-…Thank god I got fired." He ripped off his waiter's vest. "You were a little suspicious too, if you ask Me." he said changing the subject, not wishing to speak about this one any further.

"Odd, I thought the fan girls were a good enough cover." He shook his head at the former waiter. "It's not like you would know." He said flatly and ran a hand through his raven hair. "Anyway," He removed his sunglasses, "Orochimaru would want your report…"

"But-…" The blonde scratched his head. "I don't want credit for something I didn't do. After all, you're the one that killed the guy."

"First you complain and now…" He sighed. "If you don't take it, it'll be another failed mission for you, Naruto." The blonde nodded. He was stating the truth. "You can't afford that now can you?" He shook his head. "Well then, write the report and say you killed the guy."

"Fine, I guess I owe you then… Sasuke." He shrugged, swallowing. "But next target, I'll make sure I get him before you do, watch." Naruto laughed evilly and loudly and then glared at the brunette. "Damn you. I would've made deadline."

Sasuke shrugged. "You had thirty seconds, and by that time you were still pouring the drinks. When you went in the back you were fifty-five seconds off, and if you wanted to pull off the assassination and have enough time to make an alibi, you would've done it sooner. Why didn't you just poison him?"

"Quit being such a smart ass." Naruto placed his hands behind his head slyly with a grin. "It just wasn't my style." He stated simply.

"You don't have a style, you haven't killed anyone!" Sasuke scorned. Naruto's face suddenly became serious. He looked down at the crossing streets below him. "How many blocks?" Sasuke asked in a firm tone.

"Two… no make that one and a half." Naruto studied the streets. "Shit." Sasuke nodded.

"Think we can make it?" He asked challengingly, noting the scene blow him also.

"Make it where?" Naruto asked curiously, in a suspicious tone. "It's not like we're going to get caught or anything." Sasuke raised an eyebrow.

"Hey you two!" A voice called out to them.

"Oh shit." Naruto cursed and backed away from the building's ledge. "Great, someone saw us… now were suspects." Sasuke began walking. "Hey! Wait!" Naruto grabbed Sasuke's shoulder.

"Hey get back here!" The voice below called out again.

"No time." The raven-haired assassin said seriously. He pointed at the ally below them, which was a mere eight stories up. He shrugged. "It's not that bad, we've jumped from higher." Naruto nodded. "Well, lets go then, and hurry the hell up." Just as the two jumped, the cops surrounded the restaurant area… They just barely made it.

…..

TBC…

AN: So now that I am satisfied with the chapters I'll be going on, hope you like it… again, and leave some reviews! Be nice… ehehe…


	2. Premonition

AN: Ok, so about what I said earlier… this is a revision. It's going to be similar to the beginning, but see, I'm trying to make it a little more actioney, adventurey so, if you don't want to miss anything big, I suggest re-reading a few parts. I'll have to twist it a bit because the whole trying to kill and falling in love thing is just too traditional for me. ::sigh:: And on, and on, and on…

**……**

Chapter 2: Premonition

……

**Las Vegas, Nevada. Serpent Hotel, Orochimaru's office.**

"Uchiha, Sasuke. Age 18. Date of birth: July 23. Weight: 137. Height: 6'1…." He set the file down. "Where'd you find this one, Orochimaru-sama? I don't know why you even bothered. He's a little young, not to mention his body stature, he's a pint." Kabuto stated as he adjusted his glasses with a wrinkled nose.

"I didn't find him, he found me and you should know the reason I keep him, Kabuto. His last name should be good enough." Orochimaru smirked. "Is there something you detest about the boy?" Kabuto shook his head quickly. "Good. He's been a valuable asset to my team as well as my company." He handed his silver haired companion another file.

"Uzumaki, Naruto. I'm assuming this is the guy everyone's talking about. He just got us a lot of money you know." Kabuto raised an eyebrow. "Age 18, Birth: October 10. Weight-…" Orochimaru waved his hand and pulled out a cigar.

"I've read over these already, you don't have to read it out loud." Kabuto shrugged and kept on studying the file.

"If you don't mind me asking, Orochimaru-sama, why did you send him to get the recent target?"

"A test. Naruto has been slipping… Guess he pulled through. Sasuke will have to tell me the details later… I sent him to check on the guy. Oh yes, did you find anything?" Orochimaru heaved a breath of his cigar. Kabuto's head snapped up. "I sent you to do a job, did you do it?!" Orochimaru's eye twitched. His temper rose in a matter of seconds. Kabuto gaped, partially offended that his boss would question him like that.

"Of course. It's not like you _can't_ trust me or anything." He opened a nearby briefcase and dumped out all its contents. "I found plenty of interesting things when I ransacked the place, though I couldn't find the original copy of the will, I found a duplicate print-…"

"Give it here!" Orochimaru ripped it out of his hands. His eyes scanned the paper. "If I remember correctly… the fat bastard was supposed to sign over his chain of casinos to me if he died. Now that we've taken care of that problem, the 120 million dollar fortune should belong to me…" Orochimaru licked his lips hungrily.

"This is risky Orochimaru-sama, you should've waited, He was just diagnosed with something big, I doubt he would've lived. Now we'll have cops haggling all over this place." Kabuto scowled.

"I had no choice, if the bastard didn't go, _my_ chain would've. I can't allow that, he was costing me millions in customers. Quality over quantity, what the hell is that kind of bullshit?" He puffed his cigar angrily. "The idiot didn't know what he was talking about anyway. If he signed it over earlier this wouldn't have happened, he wouldn't be dead, and I'd run things like the should be." Orochimaru puffed even more vigorously at his cigar. "Anyway, who would suspect me? I had an alibi."

Kabuto shook his head and took the will back. He read it on his own. "You're going to be in deep shit _boss_." Orochimaru puffed the cigar and glanced at him curiously. "What if one of the assassins gets caught?"

"None of them should have ties with the outside world. _None._ If they do, I'll take care of them like any professional would-…" Orochimaru laughed confidently.

"Have the Uchiha exterminate them… correct?" Kabuto questioned intelligently.

Orochimaru shook his head. "Sasuke is the best. He is not some babysitter. I will not have him do something that can be taken care of by a random hobo on the street! Besides," He said calmly with a twitching eye, "I will **never** get caught. Each of my subordinates should not have any connection to this company or myself."

"Hmph," Kabuto smirked, "Orochimaru-sama, you'd be surprised…"

Orochimaru glared at his spy/assassin/assistant. "Is **that** supposed to mean something? Are you questioning **my** judgment?!" He crabbed Kabuto's collar.

"No." Kabuto replied with gleaming eyes.

"Good." Orochimaru's stare remained on the silver haired man. "In any case, these assassins don't even have real names, they belong to me, and if I find treason or intercourse with people outside of what I intend, I'll pull the trigger on them myself."

"I'm so scared." Kabuto said flatly.

"Don't cross me you fool." Orochimaru warned.

"Oh, I would never." Kabuto grimaced. He enjoyed pushing buttons…

……

**Los Angeles, California. Some Club.**

"Naruto, would you quit that?" Sasuke muttered as they sat at the bar, ironically, playing babysitter. The blonde was waving at the girls passing by, laughing loudly and making a fool of himself. Sasuke took a shot of his drink. Naruto glanced at him curiously and pulled Sasuke's drink away.

"I'm just messing around. None of these girls are my type anyway. How many have you had?" He asked, studying Sasuke's beverage. Sasuke shrugged and reached for it again. Naruto pulled it away. "You really have to stop this habit of yours."

"I don't have a habit and who cares if I drink? It's normal."

"Not at the rate you're going." Sasuke shrugged and signaled for another. "Shouldn't you go contact Orochimaru or something?" Naruto changed the subject.

"I can do that later." The waitress delivered the drink and gave a flirtatious grin at Sasuke before leaving. He rolled his eyes and pressed the glass against his lips.

"Why don't you do that now, so I don't get my ass fired? He'll need confirmation you know." Naruto pulled Sasuke's drink away and downed it himself; ignoring the glare he received from his dark companion.

"You don't get fired, you get hunted and shot down-…" Sasuke said slightly drunk. The blonde cut him off, slammed his palms down irritatingly on the counter, and dragged his partner away. The bartender stiffened and gave them a weird glance as they walked out.

"Nice Sasuke, nice. You almost slipped." Naruto fumed. Sasuke pulled away. With a couple of adjustments, he looked as normal as he did walking in. He ran a hand through his hair. _'No big deal…'_

"Shit…" Sasuke cursed and dragged his sleek black shoes on the cement, having stepped in some barf. Naruto glanced at him. Sasuke sighed, "We weren't due back for a while, I have plenty of time."

"Don't do this man! Are you crazy?! You have to give Orochimaru that report now!" Naruto said with wide eyes.

"Why should I?"

"I don't know you're the favorite, and I didn't exactly kill the guy, so how am I supposed to explain everything? And you were sent to watch me and to make sure I pulled it off. He needs a report from you first!" Naruto said shouted at him.

Sasuke shrugged. "Yeah I know. However, I can do that at anytime. You're exaggerating."

"No shit. Damn you for being the favorite, just what does the guy see in you?!" Naruto questioned angrily. As if fate decided to answer his question a couple of skimpily dressed girls walked by, one handed Sasuke her number. "Oh so Orochimaru has a **thing** for you? Ah jeez, never mind… But, the manager was a witness and-and-…"

"If you think or speak too much about it, you'll get caught." The blonde looked unconvinced. "We have an extra day, go kill the manager." Sasuke suggested and put on his sunglasses despite the night. He glanced disgustedly at the tiny paper with scribbled digits on it.

Naruto let out a fake laugh. "I hated that bastard. Damn him, he needs to be burned." His fists clenched within his jacket and made a suspicious 'snap.' He grinned evilly. Sasuke raised an eyebrow. A low rumble in the distance sounded.

"What did you do?"

"What are you talking about?" Naruto looked at him innocently. Sasuke smacked his forehead.

"That loud noise just now." The raven-haired man muttered; his curious gaze stayed on Naruto. Behind him, a fire truck passed by. Naruto burst out in laughter. "Car bomb?" The Sasuke asked quickly.

"You bet." Naruto said, but swiftly covered his mouth. He laughed nervously.

"Dobe." Sasuke hit him over the head.

"Hey, hey!" Naruto waved his arms, "He had it coming! He was practically **begging** for it!"

…..

**Back in Vegas…**

"Shit." Kabuto sighed.

"What?" Orochimaru demanded.

"You- or rather… we over looked something." Kabuto scanned the paper.

"Well, what is it?!"

"If you read the full will… 'All of my belongings and such will go to my co-worker and business partner.'" The silver haired man quoted.

"I know that already!" Orochimaru banged his fists on the table. "And?"

"… However, my fortune and enterprises will go to my niece, Haruno, Sakura."

"Who in bloody hell is Haruno Sakura?! Don't tell me that bastard…" Orochimaru's eyes widened. Kabuto continued.

"The details aren't all here, but from the information I've gathered, she's been living in Florida with her mother and she reunited with her uncle just two years ago. He opened a design company for her called, 'Cherry Blossoms.'" Kabuto smirked. "So she gets the money and you get…" He studied the file, "His oak ball point pen."

"That idiot would choose his niece over-over me?!" Orochimaru picked up a near by bottle of alcohol and flung it across the room will a strangled yell.

"I guess so… in any case, the death of Mr. Haruno does little for us." Kabuto adjusted his glasses. "That was only the first layer now-… Let's see, it seems you'll need to get her before she turns eighteen, which is in about four months. That should be around the time everything is legally signed over to her-…"

"That shouldn't be a problem." Orochimaru growled. Kabuto nodded.

"If you succeed all fortunes will go to you. Next in line would've been her mother, but she died a few months ago, and you're the last connection with Mr. Haruno himself." He blinked, "It'll have to happen quickly… this is risky Orochimaru-sama. You'll be a suspect-…"

"I'll risk it. I need that fortune and that fat idiot deprived me of it." His fists clenched. "Make sure that girl is dead by her eighteenth birthday. I'll make him pay even in death for what he has done…" Kabuto nodded.

"I'll make the arrangements immediately, Orochimaru-sama…" he said and left the room.

……

TBC…

AN: I know you think Naruto and Sasuke took the bomb incident a little lightly. You have to remember… killing is normal for these two. So yeah… pardon them and me and my sad cruel sense of humor.


	3. On the Mark

AN: If it perks your curiosity, yes, this story was written once before; **it's been revised.**

I realize how young Sakura is. If you notice in anime cartoons usually in certain parts the protagonist is a teenager with a lot of skill, talent, and respect. I'm trying to apply that … so yeah. And, remember, Orochimaru's assassins have no connection to the agency; therefore everything they do outside is strictly their own business. They live lives; they don't just kill people all day.

Chapter 3: On the Mark

New York. Cherry Blossom Designs.

Her black heels clicked upon the tile as she walked down the long hallway. People waved and smiled as she went by, but moved out of the way, in respect, and slight fear. Her pink hair was pulled back in an elegant yet messy bun. Her lips glowed a pink similar to her hair, same with her cheeks. Her fine tailored pantsuit had no speck of lint on it anywhere. She massaged her temples. _'It's far too early in the morning…_', or maybe it was just a hang over… Her green eyes scanned the area cautiously.

"Miss. Haruno." A panicking assistant came up beside her fumbling with a pile of documents. "Ma'am, you have a meeting at ten a.m. with you're uncle's attorney to discuss the will." Sakura continued to walk without giving so much as a glance to her assistant. She merely shrugged and nodded coolly. Her assistant handed her a cup of coffee. "Here, ma'am." She gulped nervously. "Anyway, after that, the meeting should only take about one and a half hours… Miss. Ino is stopping by she said, to invite you personally to a gala she's throwing in Vegas two weeks from now, along with her fiancée Nara Shikamaru. Also, she wants to see the new layouts and designs you might have. Though, she didn't mention the time. Next, a luncheon with Mr. Rock Lee."

Sakura inwardly groaned. She made it to her office and sat in her desk, motioning for her assistant to continue. "Keiko, wait. Cancel that luncheon with Mr. Lee." Her assistant looked up her with wide eyes.

"Miss, he's been trying to get a lunch date with you for months now and you've declined each request. He seemed so distraught, why do you avoid him like the plague? He's a famous athlete for goodness sake!" Keiko dropped the documents onto Sakura's desk.

"I'm not avoiding him, I just don't want to be around him." Keiko gave her a weird look. Sakura eyed her. "What else is there?"

Her assistant looked at the schedule. "It's eight a.m. Your meetings in two hours…" She calculated. "From two o'clock on to four you need to be at Markay's AN: It's just some random singer I made up She wants you to design her dress for the Music Video Awards, and I cleared the rest of your schedule." Keiko closed the planner.

"What?! Why'd you do that?" Sakura asked irritably and glared at her assistant.

"Miss. Yamanaka asked me to, and besides," she gulped. "You really didn't have anything else-…"

"Just leave Keiko." Sakura sighed. Keiko nodded and made her way out. "And make sure you cancel that luncheon with Rock Lee!" she yelled after her trembling assistant.

Sakura sighed and slumped in her chair. "Nine a.m." she whispered and reached for a document. She stared at it for a while. _'Work…'_ She couldn't do it. Her mind wandered toward her uncle. Her vision blurred. _'He was the only one I had left…'_

She was seventeen, going on eighteen, and she had an entire designing empire under her feet, and known as one of the most successful women in the world. Her uncle gave her the push, noticing her talent when he happened to see a few of her drawings and then here she was. He was a successful businessman with his own chain of casinos and outlets around the country…

She was a new designer with possibilities and million dollar projects strapped around her waist, respected for the fact that she pulled off such a task without breaking a sweat and in so little time. It was all her uncle. He promoted her, gave her so much, she loved it all. Especially because when she and her mother were living together, they lived off of table scraps until he found them.

Sakura shook her head. Without him, she wouldn't have made it, or gotten this far. She worked hard for him, to prove she could do it, but when she was at the peak of her success, and was ready to show her uncle and make him proud of her, he slipped out of her grasp, assassinated. She suddenly felt the urge to hurl something.

That was, until her assistant peaked her head in through the door. Keiko gulped. "Miss. Haruno, Miss. Yamanaka is here to see you." Sakura blinked and wiped away the forming tears.

"I thought she wasn't coming until later."

"She never confirmed the time and-…" Keiko began, but Sakura cut her off.

"Just let her in." She commanded dryly.

"I would've gone in anyway, with or without your permission, you know that." A shrill voice rang her ears. Ino walked in with a large grin on her face, dragging a sulking Shikamaru behind her. Sakura looked at the two of them with amusement.

Ino was someone Sakura met a year ago at a party her uncle threw in honor of her attainment over his design company. Since then, she's been working with Sakura and has gotten really close to the girl

"I see you two are alive and well." Sakura stated as she dismissed Keiko from the room. "I wasn't expecting you this early, and you've caught me at a bad time." Her eyes trailed back down to the document she was holding.

"Well, what a way to greet an old friend. Ever since you've gotten this job of yours you've done nothing but work and turn into an old hag wasting her life away to make money." Ino sat on one of the chairs in the office. "Shika-kun, say hi." She nudged him with her elbow. Shikamaru glared at her.

"Sakura." He acknowledged briefly and sat down also. Sakura nodded. He then proceeded in looking away as if something else interested him.

"Well, Ino," Sakura started, "You're doing the same thing, so I don't see why-…" she trailed off.

"I've been in the business longer and I'm still not as cold as you." Ino sighed. "Sakura, pretty soon, you're not going to be a teenager anymore. Have fun and break rules!! Heck I'll take you out!" She yelled encouragingly.

"One, I was taught to follow the rules and work for everything I want, I have a goal to meet, and two, I do have fun and do not need your help thank you." Sakura still would not take her eyes off the document. Ino pouted.

"Sakura, today's a Friday, why not go out and have some fun for a change huh?"

Sakura raised an eyebrow; she scanned her head for excuses. "I'm not old enough. Teenagers can't do much remember?" Ino felt the urge to slap her.

"Since when was that an issue for any teenager at all? Hell, I know twelve year olds that party and flirt more than you and you think you're bounded?!"

Sakura wanted to question how Ino knew those kind of people but-"Hey, at least I have dignity. Those girls are asking for an early pregnancy and years of misery and regret ahead of them, that's all I have to say." She replied daintily and went back to studying the document. Ino ripped it out of her hands.

"You are hopeless Sakura." Ino pursed her lips. "How about… just this once. Please? Tonight? With me and maybe Tenten? She called earlier and said she was coming into town! We'll… go to a strip club!" Sakura's expression turned sour.. "Come on! Shikamaru will come too!" That got Shikamaru out of his reverie and his intense glare on his fiancée. She patted him on the cheek.

"Troublesome…" whatever else he said faded.

"Come on Sakura!!" Ino screeched. She knew that annoyed her, but this was a last resort, insults. Sakura cringed. "I'll treat you and your large _forehead_- to a very extravagant party! I bet you can't even dance." She muttered.

"I can so! And my forehead is average!" she argued. Ino laughed.

"I'd like to see you try, and you're forehead is-."

"I'm not going and that's final!" Sakura sighed. She hated people making fun of her forehead, and more than two comments about it would make her cry, more so than her uncle's death. She'd cry until next week, until her self-esteem was up again.

"What?!" Ino looked down at her pink haired friend, who was blinking quite rapidly to hold in her tears. "Sorry for those comments Sakura, it was the only way, but that didn't work either. Damn." she snapped her fingers.

"Find different ways." Sakura muttered unenthusiastically.

"Oh!" Ino smacked her forehead. "About my gala!" Sakura groaned and sank further into her chair. _'This is going to be a long day…'_

L.A. California.

Sasuke awoke around 10:30 a.m. He groaned. His airplane flight was two hours ago. _'Shit.'_ He cursed and scanned the hotel room. With two beds, I might add _'Where the hell is Naruto?'_ Loud off pitch singing soon rang his ears. He winced. _'Found him.'_

"Naruto! We missed our flight-." He began.

Naruto stepped out of the shower, scratching the back of his head. "Yeah, yeah, I know. I rescheduled it for later this afternoon…you must have one nasty hang over my friend."

Realization dawned on Sasuke. He flinched and placed a hand over his head. He fell back onto the bed. _'Ow.'_ "Fuck." Naruto raised an eyebrow.

"Such language." He said shockingly. "Ah well, whatever, we got a new order from Kabuto-sama. He said it was urgent, and that we should get back as soon as possible. Oh, and he wanted to speak with you after you've given the report."

"What could he want now? Are they giving me another mission?" Sasuke asked, rubbing his temple. "Took them long enough."

"Kabuto said not to worry about it until you got back, and guess how much we got paid for that last kill? Eh?" Naruto grinned at that.

Sasuke grunted. He desperately wanted an excuse to go back to Vegas as soon as possible. His apartment had all the best comforts to fit him; he missed that. "I don't really care." He let out a sigh. "When is the flight?"

"One o'clock." Naruto shrugged. "Anyway, you should really shower, man, you look like hell." Sasuke raised an eyebrow.__

"Idiot." he muttered and went to shower, but stumbled a bit getting there. Naruto gave him a weird look. Sasuke kept a hand at the wall to stay steady and walked into the small bathroom. He took one step in and-.

Naruto cringed. "Sasuke would you mind closing the door while you're vomiting your insides out? Damn, That sounds nasty… smells nasty too." He plugged his nose.

Naruto was used to this, after about four months. He knew Sasuke's problem, but never shared it with anyone. Sasuke would probably have his head if he did anyway. Sasuke was a drinker but failed to control it. He shrugged it off like it was nothing all the time, and he was only eighteen. How he got this problem started, Naruto could never figure out. It probably had something to do with his past, just like a lot of the other people that became assassins who had difficulties in theirs as well.

They were partners, until that Mr. Haruno incident came up and Naruto had to take up the mission. Since Naruto almost failed the last one, Orochimaru sent Sasuke to watch and make sure the plan was pulled off.

It was a success. Naruto frowned. The next target was Sasuke's to kill. That must mean, _'The target is all powerful and great.'_ Sasuke always got the ones that were hard to kill or people with a lot of power and money with high tech security. _'Lucky bastard.'_ Sasuke was still hurling. _'Guess I'll have to wait until he's done…'_

Las Vegas, Nevada.

"Orochimaru-sama. The arrangements have been made. Haruno Sakura owns everything, as of today." Kabuto reported. Orochimaru banged his fist on the desk.

"Damn that little bitch. The sooner we get her out of the way the faster I get that money. I assume you assigned Sasuke to this, have you?"

"Yes," Kabuto adjusted his glasses, "He's the one that should get things done quickly. I've also assembled a team to go to New York consisting of: Hyuuga Neji, his wife, Hyuuga Tenten, Aburame Shino, Akimichi Chouji, and Nara Shikamaru is already present in the city. Uzumaki Naruto will accompany Sasuke there. I've sent a notice to Shikamaru to gather information. The others will be doing the same. That's it. The rest is their doing."

Orochimaru shook his head. "Replace Shino with Hyuuga Hinata. He didn't fail his last mission and rather have him here, in case someone… interferes with what I'm doing."

"But Orochimaru, sir, Hinata and Neji hardly get along-…"

"I'm testing her loyalty to us. She's edgy, and I don't trust her. Besides, they will need a medical specialist."

"Why do you say that sir?" Kabuto raised an eyebrow.

"Because Hatake Kakashi is a friend of Haruno Sakura… They'll need someone to treat those wounds."

Kabuto's eyes widened immensely. "You're saying- I mean, how did one of your former assassins escape? You didn't kill him Orochimaru?!"

Orochimaru let out a laugh. "No, unfortunately he escaped along with Uchiha Itachi. I had no idea where they were until now." He waved Sakura's file around. "I seemed to have over looked quite a lot about this girl. If the news reached across the country that Mr. Haruno was assassinated, Kakashi is smart enough to know it was my doing and he will stop at nothing to keep that girl's life out of danger."

Kabuto gulped. "So we have a problem then. If he still keeps contacts with Uchiha Itachi…"

"Correct." Orochimaru intervened, "Sasuke will have to deal with both his older brother and his former teacher. Kakashi made that Uchiha after all… I guess I was just lucky he joined the group right after Kakashi left. This is a test of skill for the boy."

Kabuto sighed. "I understand now. Sasuke joined us so he could find the two of them… So what? He will have to fight against the both of them now?" Orochimaru nodded. "He will not like this."

"He doesn't have to know. Kakashi keeps his face covered." Orochimaru smirked.

"I see…" Kabuto adjusted his glasses again. Still, he felt insecure about this procedure. _'Hatake Kakashi… Uchiha Itachi…'_

TBC…

AN: If you're confused, I don't know. I'll answer your questions next time, I'm not even sure if this made sense. I hope it did. Everything will get started shortly… or perhaps… they already have? Bwahahaha, Just kidding. This hasn't been updated for a while and I know this chapter didn't exactly follow the format the story was going in bad who cares?! I'm in a rush, with a busy weekend. Hope you all enjoyed it, and Drowning in Blood will be updated shortly!!


	4. Charade Medley

Chapter 4: Charade Medley

* * *

NE airlines.

Sasuke's eye twitched. This was going to be one very, _very_ long flight, not just because it's from Vegas to New York City, but because Naruto was next to him. Sure, he enjoyed the blonde dobe's company from time to time (though he'd never admit it aloud) it was one of those moments where he was just loud and obnoxious, and Sasuke was suffering from a large headache. His onyx eyes scanned the private jet. There were only five passengers, two of which were sleeping; himself, Naruto, and a quiet girl named Hinata were awake. He inwardly groaned.

He hadn't even set foot for two minutes in Vegas before Orochimaru's men ushered him into the psycho's office… Within fifteen minutes he gave his report and was swiftly ushered into Kabuto's office so he could receive the mission statistics. With another ten minutes to spare, he went back to his apartment to re-pack and freshen up, by the time he to back to Orochimaru's office… Naruto was just beginning his report. A good hour and a half went by and still Sasuke was outside Orochimaru's door.

Sure, it wasn't that bad. A few waitresses came by and "accidentally" spilt alcohol on his nice jeans, and even took the liberty to clean them up. He would've been appreciative if they weren't flirting with him, or if they'd spilt it in a different area other than his crotch. They seemed to be enjoying it. After a few scowls and eventually a loud "get the fuck away from me," he went to the bathroom to get cleaned up. It was just his luck; right when he came out of the bathroom, Naruto walked by and noticed the dark stain. His laughter could be heard for miles.

And now they were here, on the flight. Naruto was now slightly drunk, and hadn't let him near a drink for a good few minutes. Every time he tried ordering one, the blonde would drink it himself and give him a nice friendly pat on the back, followed by laughter about his still slightly wet pants. That was quickly silenced by a punch to the face.

"So, Hinata-chan," Naruto said slurred. The violet haired girl's head snapped up surprisingly. Sasuke turned his head away, but was still listening. "You don't-..m-mind if I call you that do youuuu?" Naruto hiccupped. She quickly shook her head. "Great!" He gave her a thumbs up. "Why are you here a-anyway? I don't think I've seeeen you-." Another hiccup. A slight blush crept up her cheeks.

"I-I've actually been around for a while." She said meekly. "I always s-see you."

"Oh!" Naruto replied loudly and sharply, causing the other two passengers to snap awake. "Ya see… I dthunno… do you have orange hair by any chance?" He laughed.

Hinata gave a small smile. "N-no."

"Did I pay for your implants once?" he asked with a hand under his chin. Hinata raised an eyebrow; the smile was wiped off her face. Sasuke blinked. '_Dobe…'_ He quickly covered his comrade's mouth and gave her a tight, yet apologetic smile. Well, it was supposed to be a smile, to Hinata it looked like someone gave him a face-lift, but she didn't say anything. Perhaps it was the lighting… She was still accepting though and gave a quick nod. Sasuke let out a low growl. She turned her head to see him clutching his hand like he was just burned. Naruto burst out laughing, and slightly sputtering.

"You taste like crap and salt." He laughed some more. "Hell, that sure snapped me out of it. Next time I get drunk, I'm coming to you."

"You'd know what crap tastes like. Damn you Naruto, that's disgusting." Sasuke wiped his hand on the seat.

"It was the only way I could get you to let go. It's strategy." Naruto crossed his arms. Hinata blinked. _'What just happened?'_

"_Find_ a different strategy. Licking someone would have you killed early more than anything." Sasuke retorted. He got a curious flick and decided to sniff his poor hand. His expression turned sour. "That's sickening…"

"Let's just say its payback for that vomit." Naruto patted him on the back.

"You weren't the one that cleaned it up, and besides I made it to the toilet." Sasuke glared at him.

"Yeah but it still smelled like shit." The blonde grinned cheekily. He turned away from Sasuke for a moment and turned to meet a pair of pearl eyes. "Uhh… who might you be?" he then whispered to Sasuke. "I didn't say anything did I?"

"You asked her if you bought her implants, Dobe." Sasuke reminded him.

Naruto stiffened. "Oh," he let out a nervous laugh. "Uhh… sorry 'bout that." Hinata gave a small nod and a smile. Her gaze then turned to an eager looking Sasuke, Naruto caught on. He took another one of Sasuke's drinks away and downed it. Her eyes widened. "Something wrong miss?" Naruto asked her.

"Y-you should stop that." She replied shyly.

"Oh? I'm just trying to help this guy," Naruto pointed at Sasuke. "You should see him. He drinks more scotch than a hobo." Sasuke whacked him over the head. "Ow, you bastard." Hinata shook her head.

"Y-if you keep going…" She meekly replied. He shrugged.

"Nah, don't worry about me. It's fine, only a couple of drinks. No big deal." Hinata shook her head. "So… why are you on this plane?" Naruto changed the subject.

"I'm your medical specialist." She said timidly. They both raised an eyebrow.

"We've never needed one before, why does that psycho decide to send us one now?" Naruto said and crossed his arms.

"Who knows, if we need a doctor this mission is probably serious." Sasuke replied dryly.

Hinata nodded. "This is my first mission so-."

Naruto picked up a laptop and scanned the files. "Nah, don't worry about it, you'll be fine. Just stick with us, and everything will run smoothly. Kabuto sent these to us right? He should have sent a profile of our next target." A few more clicks sounded. "Downloading..." A picture appeared on the screen.

"That's our threat?! She's a fucking girl!" Sasuke fumed angrily._ This is our target? This is MY target?!'_ "She looks easy, just let me infiltrate the house, one gun shot and she's dead. I can't believe that old bastard would send me a target this easy! What the hell is he thinking?!" Sasuke suddenly thought about it. "Wait…"

"You're not serious." Naruto muttered and smacked his forehead. _'Of all things! A girl, probably a spoiled, whiney, little…-.'_ He studied the picture even closer. _'Pink hair? Green eyes…' _He looked even closer... _'Short skirt, long legs… breasts look about a C…' _He blinked and leaned back as if he'd seen a ghost. "I did not just do that." He whispered to himself.

"Do what?" Hinata asked meekly. Naruto gave a nervous laugh and shook his head quickly. "So? Who is it?" Naruto turned the laptop around so that it faced her. "Oh…" A saddened look crossed her features. Their target was a girl, probably around her age. Suddenly, she felt like backing out on the entire thing. _'The girl looks so fragile…'_ She felt sick.

"Excuse me." A voice interrupted. They both looked up to find a large pair of black… eyebrows….

* * *

New York City. Sakura's Apartment.

"AHH!! Where the hell is it?!" Sakura scurried across the apartment, knocking over chairs and vases.

"Sakura, calm down." Kakashi said dully from his corner.

"Kakashi-senpai! You don't know how important this is! It's Ino's gala in Vegas!" She ran a hand through her hair. "I know that darned dress is somewhere around here."

"You're a designer, make one. It's simple." The gray haired man sighed and flipped another page of his book. "What's the big deal? It's just a dress."

"It's the dress Ino made for me, I can't just-." She tossed over another chair.

"It's not under there and you know it. Maybe it's at your other apartment in L.A." He offered. She shook her head.

"Would you help me find it?! All you do is read that purvey book of yours!" Sakura poked his chest.

"What would you know about it?" He flipped another page. "Tell you what, buy a new dress and I'll take off my mask."

"Really?!" Sakura looked up at him like a child. "You're on!" she scanned her place. "Jeez it looks like a tornado just blew through here."

"That's your fault." He replied dryly. Sakura scowled.

"Why do you wear that mask of yours anyway? Trying to play ninja or what?" She began to pick up the chairs she knocked over.

He smirked under his mask. "Something like that… I guess you could say." She raised an eyebrow, expecting a more logical answer. "It's also cold outside." He put down his book and began to help her pick up the pillows and furniture that fell over.

"It's eighty degrees in here, the heaters on." She fluffed a pillow.

"So then I'm sensitive to the weather." He shrugged.

"Kakashi-senpai, I need my uncle's will, it wasn't in the briefcase the lawyer had." Sakura sat down on a chair.

"Slacking off already?" he sat down across from her.

"No, just tired. I have no choice; I'll need to buy another dress. So, can you get me the will or not?" she asked. Kakashi's eye wandered around.

"I don't know. If the lawyer doesn't have it, who does?"

Sakura shrugged. "I just thought you could get it, you were one of his close friends after all."

He nodded. "Such a shame I was out of town that day… if you don't mind, I'd like some information on his death."

"Is that why you're here?" He nodded. Sakura sighed. "He was assassinated." She replied lamely. Kakashi raised an eyebrow.

"Is… that it? Evidence? Ransoms? Threats? Anything else?" he asked. She shook her head.

"None that I know of, I just remember being told that there was one gun-shot to the head. He died instantly. There were no threats, no valid reason to kill him and whoever the killer was got away apparently. They can't find hide or hair of that guy, let alone a fingerprint. Come to think of it… they barely have any suspects…" She pursed her lips. Kakashi thought about it for a moment.

"Well, you said they have barely any suspects… who would they be?"

"Some waiter named Uzu Maki. Though he was in the cellar at the time, the shooting took place right when he knocked the power cable out. They found that a little suspicious and far too perfectly timed… or something like that. The manager took blame for the power out, but the thing is Uzu was fired right after it happened. The police tried to track him down, however, the name Uzu Maki doesn't exist." Sakura sighed. "There is one other which is a man in a black trench coat…" she continued to ramble on.

Kakashi's eye narrowed. _'Could this be Orochimaru's doing?'_

* * *

NE Airlines.

"What the hell is that?!" Naruto pointed. Sasuke took in a few breaths.

"May we help you?" He ground out. The pair of eyebrows stepped back and have them a large thumbs up.

"I am Rock Lee!" He introduced and posed. "And I would like to know how long this flight is going to be." Another pose. "You see, I got woken up a while ago by a loud noise coming from back here." Meaning the back of the plane Pose. Both Hinata and Sasuke gave an irritated glance at Naruto.

"About two more hours. You should get back to sleep, and would you stop posing?" Sasuke said annoyed. He couldn't have fuzzy brows here looking at the files.

"I'm not tired at all." He did a few midair kicks. Naruto and Sasuke ducked every so often to avoid them. He posed again.

The blonde looked at Sasuke. He pointed at Lee. "Does this guy look familiar?" Sasuke shrugged. The laptop buzzed. They all turned their attention toward it.

"Sakura-chan!" Lee turned starry eyed. The trio gave him a weird glance.

"You know this girl?" Naruto pointed at the picture.

"Why yes! She's the owner of Cherry Blossom Designs. I'm sure you've heard of it." Lee replied with a wink. Hinata looked down at her white sweater. It was by the same designer. She cringed and removed it. _'I can't be distracted… I have to do this…'_

"Wow… small world." Naruto muttered.

"So why are you guys looking at her anyway? Stalking her or something?" Lee asked curiously. The three of them stiffened.

"We're reporters doing an article on the recent turn of events in her life. This is just research." Sasuke stated simply. Naruto and Hinata nodded.

"Wow, you guys have information all the way down to her first shot. You guys really do your research." Lee rubbed his chin.

"Why yes… we do." Naruto raised an eyebrow.

"What are you guys plotting?" Lee asked suddenly. They blinked in surprise. Naruto turned to Sasuke and gave him a look as if asking 'Is he on to us?'

"What… do you mean? We're just reviewing the information to see if it's valid." Sasuke said, never taking his eyes off Lee. _'If I have to…'_ He placed his hand on the holster of his gun cautiously.

"Oh, I see. Well, you know, since her uncle's been murdered the people around her have been very edgy, and I am a little concerned. You never know when there's a killer around..." Lee narrowed his eyes. Naruto and Hinata gave a nervous laugh as he studied them. A grin fell back onto his face. "Oh, well then I should warn you," Lee said as he walked to his part of the jet, "She's awfully hard to get in a meeting with. Good luck though." He gave another thumbs up and a flashing smile before disappearing behind the curtain.

"Well, He's a nice fellow…" Naruto crossed his arms. "Haruno Sakura huh? It's a shame we have to kill someone who looks this unhealthy. She almost looks like a doll, don't you think Sasuke?"

His onyx eyes were still on the picture. _'Haruno Sakura… why are you a threat to Orochimaru?' _"Hmm… why does Orochimaru want her dead, we already killed Mr. Haruno…"

"Maybe he holds a grudge or something." Naruto suggested. "Either way, we won't know all the details until we arrive at New York, so you might as well get some sleep yourself." The blonde closed his eyes. Hinata returned to her seat to do the same. Sasuke shrugged him off. His eyes scanned the profile. _'Her birthday is in four months…that should give us enough time.' _He shut down the laptop and leaned back in his seat.

_'Assignment: Kill Haruno Sakura before her eighteenth birthday.'_ He made a quick note. A small smirk graced his features. _'That shouldn't be a problem…'_ He closed his eyes. A plan was already hatching in his head.

"Hey Sasuke." Naruto's lazy voice interrupted. "I was thinking…" Sasuke opened one of his eyes, glaring at him and expecting something important. "If you had a pet monkey, and it was bad… would you spank it?"

"Idiot." Sasuke smacked him over the head once again and proceeded to sleep. As soon as darkness enveloped him... _'Green eyes…'_ Suddenly, he found his own eyes open again.

* * *

Chapter five… soon. 


	5. Vast Confusion

AN: all right, Cheerful, no don't take that anonymous review thing any wrong way. I was experimenting with something, until I realized that I had reviewers that were anonymous and had to undo it. Sorry about the confusion!!

Chapter 5: Vast Confusion

……

New York.

"What do you think of this one Kakashi-senpai?" Sakura asked as she twirled around in a shimmering white dress. He didn't look up from his book. "Kakashi-senpai! Pay attention!" Her guardian snapped his head up to find Sakura flushed with anger.

"Uh, yeah!" He gave her an enthusiastic thumbs up.

"Urg, you'd better pay attention because you're the one paying for it!" She yelled at him. Kakashi sighed and pulled out a random dress from a rack. What did it matter? She's the one that paid him.

"Here, see? Easy, and it only costs…" He looked at the tag, "thirty dollars! What a bargain!" Sakura glared at him.

"Quit being so cheap, you expect me to wear _that_?!" She pulled the wicked dress out of his hand. "It's all… frilly a-and it has velcro, and do you see that brown pattern on it?! I looks like someone took a large crap and smudged it everywhere!" She yelled. Kakashi put his hands up.

"Ok, ok! Calm down, there's no need to get angry, or shout… just cause you're a big designer doesn't mean you have to put down others…" He reasoned with her.

"I-is there a p-problem, Miss. Haruno?" The clerk asked nervously. Kakashi shook his head and gave ease to the shaking man.

"Not at all, sir," Kakashi waved the clerk off and then turned his attention to her, "Sakura calm down, you're scaring people."

"Good." She plopped herself onto a nearby chair. "We've been here for three hours and I still can't find one stupid dress! I should've made one! It sure as hell would've eased my pain." She muttered bitterly.

"Well, that's what I suggested, but no…" Kakashi sneered. She felt the urge to clobber him over the head. He scanned the racks. "Oh wait, here…" He picked up a dress. "Try this on."

Sakura gazed up at the cut fabric. Her eyes lit up immediately. "That…" Kakashi beamed. "Is," she gasped. The silver-haired man gave himself a pat on the back, "the ugliest thing I've ever seen." He fell over.

"Such language… I give up. If you think you can make dresses better than everyone else-." He began.

"I do not!" Sakura finally gave her guardian a whack over the head. "I was just- well, it is ugly and-and you didn't even try!" She reasoned with him. "Besides, I'll look like a pixie!"

"Fine…" Kakashi's eye twitched for a brief second. "Here." He pulled out another dress. Her eyes lit up again. He awaited her verdict cautiously…

"How come I didn't see it before?!" Sakura took the fabulous dress out of his hands. It was red, almost burgundy, had small straps, jewels, and was magnificent in a simplistic way. She scurried to the fitting room to try it out.

Kakashi heaved a sigh and plopped onto a nearby chair wearily and pulled out his ever so famous book. "Women…" He muttered tiredly.

……

"Target, sited." He said lowly with his hand on his earpiece. His eyes scanned a nearby building from a roof.

"Where?" Another voice asked.

"Two blocks away from your location. Building 294, four stories up…"

"Got it." The other voice confirmed. "Shall we move in with the tracker?"

"No, wait until Sasuke and Naruto get here… We'll need some sort of solid confirmation." He sat down.

"Hm." The voice in his earpiece replied. He smirked and then sighed. A few minutes of awkward silence later… He grew impatient.

"It would be easy enough to just kill her here and now, just hand me a damn sniper rifle." Neji growled.

"Calm down, love." The voice said calmly. "Patience."

"That doesn't help, Tenten." Neji clenched his fist. "All she's doing it trying on some stupid dresses-."

"I hope you're not looking." Tenten muttered grimly.

"Like I'd check out that pixie." He said to reassure her. Tenten's voice suddenly went low.

"Come on now, love, don't make fun of her, she's a nice girl." She said in Sakura's defense. Neji raised an eyebrow.

"How would you know?" He asked curiously.

"I met her a few months back. She was very charming; it's such a shame we have to do this. I really wish we didn't have to…" The two of them grew silent for a while.

"Target moving." Neji said suddenly.

"Can you place a tracking device on her? I can monitor her fully from there."

"Hn." He jumped down from the roof. This was going to be easy...

……….

"She lives in an apartment near Central park, on the top floor at that. She also has a condo in Florida, Illinois, and California." Shikamaru explained as he led Naruto, Sasuke and Hinata into the office, which was merely an extravagant house of Orochimaru's. "She averages about forty million a year by herself, and now with her uncle's fortune…"

Naruto whistled. "She's loaded." Shikamaru nodded.

"What time is she expected back at her apartment?" Sasuke asked wanting as soon as possible to get this mission done and over with.

"As soon as we get a tracker on her and confirmation by Tenten." The lazy man replied.

Meanwhile, Naruto plopped himself onto the large bed. His head sprang up when he noticed Hinata had barely taken more than three steps into the room. She looked around nervously. "Ne, Hinata-chan," He smiled, "Let's say you and me go around New York for a little while?" He sensed her awkwardness. She gave him an uncomfortable look. "Besides," He ushered his shoulder over to where Sasuke was standing, "We have nothing better to do, and most likely that baka would just sit here and read mission scripts all day."

"B-but-." Hinata stammered with a slight blush on her cheeks. Sasuke turned to glare at the two of them.

"Come on." Naruto go up, grabbed her hand, and led her out the door.

"Idiot." Sasuke muttered as soon as the two of them were out of the room. He lifted a heavy rifle up from a briefcase.

"Oh that's not suspicious." Shikamaru said sarcastically and sat down on a couch. "I said the place was near Central Park. Do you think you can sneak that by 300 people without one of them seeing?"

"I've done it before." Sasuke replied and glared at him.

"Airports don't count." His companion smirked. "Here." He handed him a small handgun along with a silencer. "USP with a silencer. Quick, efficient, and it's hardly noticeable depending on how you camouflage it." Sasuke took the gun sternly.

"I don't like this. Why the hell did I get stuck with his crummy mission?"

"You wanted a job didn't you?" Shikamaru questioned. "Don't complain. It'll be fine."

"Hmph, you can say that because you run, and you don't give a shit." Sasuke seethed. Shikamaru grinned. "Shouldn't you be with Ino?" Sasuke asked.

"She's actually out to a small luncheon with our target."

Sasuke's head snapped up. "What? She doesn't-."

"Of course she doesn't know. She doesn't care how I make my money as long as I do something."

"Hmph, I'm surprised you're taking this so well, Shikamaru."

"I have no real attachment to the girl. I'll get over it." He said and looked out the window. A few moments of silence went by the two of them until a small beeping noise interrupted.

"Guys." Tenten's voice crackled over a nearby walkie-talkie. Shikamaru picked up the small electronic device.

"What is it Tenten?"

"We've got a problem." She replied grimly.

"What do you mean?" Sasuke questioned suddenly feeling shady.

"Neji." Her voice turned to a panic. "He's been shot."

"Where are you guys?" Shikamaru asked urgently as he motioned for Sasuke to prepare to leave.

"I'm at the hospital." She replied.

"What happened?"

"We ran into some trouble, that trouble being, Hatake Kakashi." Her voice crackled.

"Ok we'll-." Shikamaru began, "Hey- Sasuke wait up!" He called after his companion. "Shit." He cursed. "I'll be right over."

"What about Sasuke?"

"Something suddenly ran up his ass." Shikamaru muttered glaring at the door.

……….

_"Hatake Kakashi"_ The name repeated in his head over and over again. "You can't be involved in this too can you?" His brow crinkled in frustration as he walked through the dense Central Park, gazing up at the large building that Haruno Sakura supposedly lived in. Sasuke shook his head. "It can't be."

Neji was shot, and that was a rare occurrence. He growled. If Kakashi really was helping this Sakura girl, would that mean his old teacher would soon become his enemy? He glared at the building. The lights had just turned on. "Hn." Sasuke couldn't let that get in the way. Kakashi would not get in his way. It probably wasn't even Kakashi, Tenten was hallucinating.

Sasuke confirmed it to himself. It wasn't Kakashi, and he would not let that thought bother him. Haruno Sakura was going to die tonight at his hands.

TBC....

……….

AN: Alright! Finally, right? Sorry, sorry, sorry!! The next won't take long!! Hang me if you'd like, but you'll never get the next chapter in that case.


	6. At Death's Door

AN: All right, next chapter!!

Broken Wings Chapter 6: At Death's Door

………

New York

"I can't believe this!" Shikamaru plopped himself onto a chair near Neji's bed. "How the hell do _you_ get shot?!"

Neji scoffed, "The gunman was Kakashi, that's how… Moron." He looked away bitterly. Tenten placed a hand on his shoulder soothingly, but he brushed her off with a growl.

"Why the hell is that man associated with that pixie? How come he had to end up there of all places?!"

"Maybe he's her lover." Shikamaru said nonchalantly.

Tenten shook her head. "Sir Kakashi is a tad old, and besides they seemed more like parent and guardian."

"Still, in our society, you never know…" He replied with a shrug. Neji suddenly got up, but a sharp pain in his leg caused him to collapse.

"Neji!" Tenten wrapped her arms around him. "Why are you trying to walk? You know you can't yet; it's only been a few hours for heaven's sake!" She scolded him. Neji seemed very tiny at the moment, which caused Shikamaru to snicker. The pearl-eyed man glared at his partner.

"So I take it you got shot in the leg?" Shikamaru concluded, "and this somehow proves that the man was Kakashi…?" Neji didn't reply.

"Kakashi and Sakura were exiting the store," Tenten explained, "The original plan was to have Neji place a tracker on her, simply and quickly; however, as Neji approached, Kakashi must've recognized him because he took the girl and ran. He," She referred to Neji, "stupidly decided to pursue them and **not** try again later. They ran a few blocks and eventually, the man pulled out a gun and shot him in the leg. You do know how hard it is to shoot someone in the leg while they're running don't you?"

"Still, it doesn't prove anything, the man could've been anyone, perhaps even her body guard? He's being paid to hurt someone professionally." Shikamaru suggested.

"How many people do you know have that hair?!" Tenten question him sharply.

"Maybe he started a trend." He suggested again.

"Anyone who has ever seen the guy, besides us, is dead. He wears a mask, but that hair and that 'book' is undeniably Kakashi." She smirked seeing Shikamaru's solemn expression.

"I suppose it _could be_ a possibility. I'm not confirming anything until I see him for myself, but this is going to screw with Uchiha, isn't it?" Shikamaru raised an eyebrow. Both Neji and Tenten nodded grimly. "Well, at least his inner angst will provide me with _some sort_ of decent entertainment for the next few days or so, besides **you** getting shot, of course, Neji." He let out a small laugh.

Neji limped over and clobbered Shikamaru in the head. "I don't even want to think about how _you_ got into this job."

………

Hinata giggled as she exited the mall with Naruto. She held three bags in her hands, and Naruto left with four, but only one belonged to him. He had decided to buy her a few things in order to make up for the flight. Of course, she declined graciously, but he insisted and picked items off of racks randomly.

So, here she was trying to accept the fact that she was having a good time, and being spoiled too. She hadn't felt this way since she was a little girl. He seemed to bring back that sort of happiness in her.

"Well, we'd better head back," a few moments of silence… "Ne, Hinata-chan," His face grew stern all the sudden, "how come you're here anyway?" She gave him a surprised look.

"I-I'm your medical specialist-."

"Don't take this the wrong way," He continued, "we've never needed a medical specialist ever, and all of our injuries can easily be taken care of by ourselves or in the hospital. I don't think this mission is serious enough anyway…" He scratched the back of his head. Hinata held her breath until he finished his conclusion. She suddenly grew nervous. _'Does he know?'_

"Ah, but what the heck," Naruto shrugged, "if this mission wasn't serious, Orochimaru wouldn't send you, right? Maybe I'm just thinking too much…"

The thought of a thinking Naruto caused her to let out another giggle.

"Hey, hey! That's not funny!" He protested. She covered her mouth to hide the smile. _'Perhaps not all these people are so bad after all…'_

………

Sakura's Apartment later that night…

An odd chill enveloped Sakura's body. She knew fully that something was wrong after her guardian swiftly left her after their shopping trip, and now she was paranoid. She checked each room in her spacious apartment twice, quickly used the bathroom, turned on security, placed a phone and a baseball bat next to her, dressed in a comfortable night gown (in case she needed to run), and finally hopped into bed. She slept on her back so that she knew exactly what was on either side of her. _'How did it come to this?'_

Sakura slapped her forehead and turned to her clock. It was only eight p.m. _'Well, I have to get an early start right?'_ The more she thought about it, the more she felt her paranoia rise, and could only comprehend two things. _'I am going to die, and I am scared shitless.'_ A sudden scratch at the window caused her to shriek. Sakura sprang out of bed with the bat in hand. After a few moments of heavy breathing she slowly returned to bed. _'This is silly... I'm just-...' _

She closed her eyes. Another scratch came at her window. She tightened her eyelids and clutched the blanket closer to her body. _'Stop it Sakura, this is nothing... nothing at all.'_ She kept convincing herself. A final scratch had her sitting straight up in bed. _'Something's wrong.'_ Sakura turned her green eyes to the window and noticed the curtain flowing freely from the open window. _'No...'_ She reached out for the bat and found it gone.

**'Click.'**

A horrified gasp escaped her lips. _'How could I've been so stupid?!'_ She screamed at herself mentally as the feeling of cold metal pressed against her forehead. _'No... I should've known!.'_ Sakura lived near the top floor of the apartment complex where no trees could possibly reach to scratch the glass, and the windows were too high for mischievous children to throw things at. She scolded herself for not remembering sooner. _'I'm going to...'_

"Don't move." A voice seethed. She held in a gasp and closed her eyes tightly praying to God she wouldn't die tonight. The metal was pressed even closer to her forehead. A little shriek escaped her lips; she grasped her sheets. "I thought I said—fuck!" He swore abruptly. The lamp near her bed had been knocked over causing a flicker of electricity. Sakura took her chance and crawled ungracefully off the bed, getting tangled in the sheets.

The man quickly grabbed the fabric and pulled. Sakura flipped off of her bed painfully, but she got up and ran out of her room. "Where do I go?" she asked herself in a panic as she ran down the narrow hallway. The man was coming. Her apartment, although spacious, was not a great place to run around feely in. She hopped across the couches in her living room and almost dove into the kitchen. "Ah ha!" She grabbed the knife off of her counter…

But it was quiet. It was as if the man had never been there at all. Sakura dared to peek into her bedroom door from the kitchen where it was visible, but the only thing she could see was darkness. Of course, the place was filled with a little bit of moonlight from the windows… still she expected him to chase after her, or shoot her, or grab her or… something.

She felt like the pretty girl who stereotypically dies a bloody death in a horror movie, standing there shakily with a butcher knife in hand. All she could do was glance around and listen to her own breathing. The best thing she could do now, she thought, was to pick up the phone and call Kakashi, or run out of her apartment like an idiot and scream to her neighbor that there was someone up in her house trying to kill her. Except… her neighbors thought she was slightly disturbed with all the furniture she usually throws around and the mood swings she often has…

Call Kakashi. _'Plain and Simple.'_ Sakura nodded to herself and picked up the phone across from her on the counter. With the knife in a ready position she took the mere three steps to reach the talking device.

**'Click.'**

_'Damn it.'_ Sakura cursed mentally when she saw the barrel of the gun in her face once again. Her fingers were on the phone, and the man was sitting daintily on her counter top… with his dirty shoes… She glanced down irritably and the faint specks of dirt illuminated in the moonlight.

A drop of sweat fell from her. The man pressed the gun to her once again. "I'll scream." She threatened.

"Try it." He dared her with a dark voice. Sakura shuddered and opened her mouth to do so. He aimed the gun into her mouth. "Now stay just like that and you won't have anything left in your lungs or your whole damn repertory system to scream with in two seconds, and I'll shoot you so that you're still alive to feel it."

_'He's so mean!'_ Sakura thought. She smacked herself. _'Well, what an odd thought to have when you're about to be **murdered**! Think of something! Do something!'_ She closed her mouth, shut her eyes, clutched the knife and swung. 'Thwack!'

"Ah!" The man dropped his gun with a surprised and angry look on his face. He clutched his bleeding hand and growled at her. "Damn it." He reached into his sleeve to get his knife, but when he looked up—

"Don't move." Sakura commanded with a shaking voice. She held the gun he had dropped. _'Ah haha! The tables have turn Mr. Assassin guy!'_ She congratulated herself. He merely raised an eyebrow, which she saw because the moonlight slightly enlightened his face. Sakura could see the outline of a very good-looking man. _'Is that a good thing? Or a bad thing?'_

From the corner of her eye Sakura saw the man's hand moving. Before she could react he smacked the gun out of her hands roughly and swung his foot around on the counter to kick her in the jaw. Surprised and stunned because he dared to hit a girl, she fell back onto the counter behind her and hit her back painfully on the granite surface. Sakura let out a breath of pain. The man then took the knife out of her hand in her dazed state, and aimed the gun once again at her forehead.

"Now you die."

Sasuke smirked triumphantly; his hand tightened on the trigger.

TBC…


End file.
